Saturday at the Movies: “Plan of the City”

What if you could launch your city, building by building, and resettle on Mars? “Plan of the City” is a musical fantasy about the architecture of New York City and Shanghai blasting off and being transplanted to Mars, complete with enough Tang to last the flight. This creative and entertaining short film is an animated collage combining live action footage, animated elements, illustrations and photographs, including photos of the Red Planet taken by the Mars rovers Spirit and Opportunity. The music is awesome and the visuals are just plain fun. The film was conceived and directed by Joshua Frankel, in collaboration with composer Judd Greenstein and NOW Ensemble. It was presented with the music performed live, timed to the film, at Le Poisson Rouge in New York City in May, 2011.